
Glass • > , 



Book JL 



- 2 



THE 



ORIGIN AND COURSE 



INTEMPERANCE : 



POEM, 



K* FIVE CANTOS. 



BY JOHN THOMAS. 

u 



BURNETT & SMITH, 17 ANN STREET. 
1833. 




^° 



% 









Southern District of New-York, to wit : 

Be it remembered, That on the 23d day of May, Anno 
Domini 1832, John Thomas, of the said District, hath deposi- 
ted in this office the title of a Book, the title of which is in the 
words following, to wit : 

" The origin and course of Intemperance ; a Poem, in five 
cantos . By John Thomas . ' ' 

The right whereof he claims as author. In conformity with 
an Act of Congress, entitled, " an Act to amend the several 
Acts regarding copy-rights. 

FREDERICK J. BETTS, 
Clerk of the Southern District of New-York. 






DEDICATION. 

To the Temperance Societies of Brooklyn and of 
New York City ; To the Temperance Societies of 
Albany, and of the State of New York: and to the 
Temperance Societies of the Union at large, is this 
little volume 

most respectfully dedicated, 

by their obedient servant and friend 
THE AUTHOR, 
Brooklyn, 18th May, 1832. 



PREFACE. 

IT were perhaps to be desired, that the lines which 
constitute the following work had not received the 
imposing and sonorous name of poem, covered as 
they are with manifold imperfections. Possibly 
a more appropriate designation would have been 
" Sketches of Scripture Biography, illustrative of the 
ruinous consequences of intemperance, in verse ;" 
but the foregoing appellation having obtained cur- 
rency, it cannot be recalled. 

The execution of every human undertaking be- 
comes necessarily affected by circumstances. 

On approaching the feast of Belshazzar, as it had 
been previously touched by several pens, slightly, it 
was found indispensable to appropriate to it the space 
and amplification which it has here received; and this 
has interfered with the completion of the two remain- 
ing unexecuted parts of the original design, viz. illus- 
trations drawn from profane history, and the narra- 
tion of that modern revolution of opinion and prac- 
tice in society, in the discouragement of intemperance, 
which is at once so peculiar to the present age, so 
cheering, and which redounds so much to the honor 

1* 



VI PREFACE. 

of the United States;* this country thus paying 
back part of its moral debt, contracted with Europe, 
and with England, for the original drafts of so 
many social institutions and improvements. 

But the quantity of matter promised in the sub- 
scription paper has been exceeded, and so far no de- 
linquency can be established; and the unfinished sec- 
tions of the argument shall, if the public sanction the 
intention, form the second part of the " origin and 
course of intemperance." 

For any author to betray an insensibility to fair 
and liberal criticism, would be as culpable on that 
hand as it would on the other exhibit weakness to 
evince an excessive anxiety respecting the awards of 
critical tribunals ; of which the constant practice of 
some at least has been from time immemorial to 
fasten and expatiate upon faults until the beguiled 
reader of such summary critiques question whether 
there are any beauties to counterbalance, or perhaps, 
which is still worse, remembers the defects and 
thinks no more of the performance. 

If such there be, who may feel inclined so to treat 
this metrical effusion, perhaps its moral ends may 
have the efficacy of staying the club of the literary 



* Temperance Societies on the model of those of the States 
have been established in England and Scotland. 



PREFACE. Vll 

Hercules, which might be uplifted for the annihila- 
tion of the humble author. 

But whether this happen or not, if the general 
reader exclaim, as he reads, " Dum lego assentior" 
the writer will, in any event, be satisfied, and make 
himself easy, let the critic take what course he may. 

It remains to state, the authorities for the narra- 
tive part of the poem and indebtedness to collateral 
aids — Scripture, Josephus, and ancient history, chief- 
ly constitute the former ; and some valuable hints 
have been received from Miss More's Sacred Dra- 
mas, and the poem of Judah restored. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Thee ! sparkling bright in nature's sylvan fount, 

Or tumbling down the side of snow clad mount, 

Excursing, babbling through the brook below, 

Or cooling some sharp peak's burnt leafless brow ; 

Refreshing e'en to ecstacy the bands 

Which stray across Sahara's smothering sands; 

Now wildly rushing o'er the frightful steep 

Of Cataract, thence rolling to the deep ; 

Fast speeding with the River's widening stream, 

When he with smiles greets morn's first purple beam; 

Mild flowing in Siloas tide, erst sung 

By one endow' d with seraph's burning tongue, 

Or drawn by thirsty Sol from the vast main, 

Revisiting again the arid plain — 

Thee, Water ! unmix' d element I sing, 

Of liquid's source and undisputed King. 

###### 

Man's pride is still the bane of mortal bliss, 
He would amend what he conceives amiss. 
The Leper might, on easy terms be cur'd, 
But common water could not be endur'd. 
What healing virtues yielded Jordan's stream ? 
So near at hand ! Oh ! 'twas a prophets dream. 



X INTRODUCTION. 

What host would for a guest, the table spread, 
With common fare, good simple homely bread ? 
Or could he, the reproachful taunt endure, 
Of treating old true friends to water pure. 
What would they say? The question's pertinent I 

trow, 
And few can answer it without a glow. 
Our pride confess' d, our taste is next to blame ; 
Taste govern' d by caprice, by fear and shame j 
By eVry passion shap'd by turn and fit, 
At ev'ry flame but sober reason's lit : 
For this we give our money and our ease, 
And others, ever, not ourselves to please. 
A small shoe pinches, but it must be worn, 
An old hat's shabby, it must be forsworn : 
A new one gives us vertigo and pain, 
NHmporte, we can appear abroad again. 
In every human breast has pride its sway, 
But fashion makes e'en pride itself give way : 
What others do, must still by us be done, 
Or, as the proverb is, " we live alone." 
Who, then, shall mighty fashion task and rule, 
Who shall the master dare to flog and school ? 
The public must, is my unchanged reply, 
Its will express' d by large majority. 
The Upas banish' d from the poor man's board, 



INTRODUCTION. XI 

Is but a poor affair — who can't afford, 

The fashionables say, to drink good wine, 

Are ever foremost to denounce and whine. 

And this position is a stubborn one, 

To drive one from, who to the custom's prone. 

But if the tyrant fashion pass a law 

Forbidding who give feasts, a cork to draw, 

To blame or praise would be alike in vain, 

The rich their health, the poor their peace would gain. 

But ere this happen, much is to be done, 

The public mind brought o'er, its judgment won : 

And this accomplish' d, the whole battle's fought, 

For what is done by action is begun by thought. 

But who steps forth to teach will soon be task'd, 

And what we aim at we may yet be ask'd ! 

Excesses wild in passion drink, or food, 

Abuse of things, in other senses good. 

Our special blow at alcohol is aim'd, 

The monster's still alive though somewhat maim'd. 

But some would reason, and 'tis such we love 

To hear ; and if they can, let them disprove 

Our illustration's points, or inference. 

There are perhaps, who sneer and wish more sense. 

Less def 'rence paid to poesy and sound, 

And more instructive facts, more solid ground, 

Of useful narrative and precept sage, 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

To square with our bright intellectual age. 

"We cater for the public gen'ral mind," 

Not eVryone can reason if inclin'd. 

Some must be moved by images and flow, 

Of numbers, by a fervid fancy 7 s glow. 

Our course has left us little room for these, 

But if the aim of poets be to please, 

Our humble muse should, with her moral end, 

The dulce's pleasing objects try to blend : 

For who with lasting wreaths his brow would bind, 

And work most good on his own adder kind, 

Must still adapt his charm to ears refin'd. 



ARGUMENT. 

Canto 1st. — Adam, as aconseqence of the fall, losing his seren- 
ity of mind, his piety, and his taste for the simple pleasures 
and occupations furnished him in Paradise — is seized with 
anguish and apprehension, at his self-discovered change ; 
surrenders himself to melancholy, and is approaching a state 
of despair. In a moment of phrenzy he throws himself from 
a crag in the vicinity of Eden. Lying in a state of stupor, 
he is visited by Eve, who informs him that, being in pursuit 
of the Tree of Life, (which, says Josephus, it was believed 
among the Jews, had the peculiar property of recovering 
from the evils of the fall) she had made discovery of the fruit 
of a tree which, undergoing a certain process, had at once 
the effect of exciting and soothing those who drank of its 
liquor. 

Canto 2d. — The causes of the flood. The flood described. 
Gradual destructions of the Antedeluvians. Picture of a 
group upon the Himmalah mountains, and of the two last 
swimmers. 

Canto 3d. — The subsidence of the waters. The return to their 
homes, of the tribes of animals. Noah's surprizal into the 
commission of intemperance. Disastrous consequences. 
Curse pronounced upon the progeny of Ham. Philosophi- 
cal views of the same, stated. 

Canto 4th. — Lot's sojourning after the terrible punishment in- 
flicted upon the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. His 
residence at Zoar. Removal to the mountain. His daugh- 
ters. His intemperance. His crime of incest. 

Canto 5th. — The feast of Belshazzar. Time, twenty-four 
hours. First scene, laid in the palace. Second, changes to 
the banks of the Euphrates. Third, restored again to the 
2 



XIV ARGUMENT. 

palace. The person, luxuries, dissolute and effeminate ha 
bits of Belshazzar described. Manners of the court: Tem- 
ple of Belus. The captive Jews in Babylon. Their state. 
A'party of them meet on the banks of the Euphrates during 
the night of the festival. Daniel joins them. Informs of 
the state of the kingdom. Adverts to their own history. 
Apprizes them of the great events about taking place in Ba- 
bylon. His curse on Babylon, chiefly deduced from the 
sacred writings. Belshazzar, surrounded by the insignia of 
pomp and splendor, begins the banquet. While uttering 
impious sentiments, servilely applauded by the courtiers. 
Sends for the sacred vessels and profanely drinks out of them. 
The hand-writing on the wall. Astonishment and terror of 
Belshazzar. Astrologers and wise men cannot interpret the 
characters of the writing. Daniel's interpretation. The 
banquet goes on as before. About the dawn of morning the 
advanced guard of a division of Cyrus and Darius' army 
surround the palace. The troops defending it are slain. 
The palace entered. Belshazzar decides on fighting. Sal- 
lies out. His behaviour. The imbecility of his attacks upon 
veteran and hardy troops. The king slain. 



First Canto— Octo-syllabic. The remaining Cantos in hero- 
ic measure; 



CANTO FIRST. 

In Eden's blissful hallow' d groves 

No vengeful arm was felt or fear'd, 

No hawk pursued the fluttering doves, 

Nor Lion tore the trembling herd — 

No ruffling gale disturbed the lake, 

No angry winds lash'd ocean's face — 

No wolf lurk' d near the peaceful brake, 

Nor robber broke the hamlet's peace; 

No poisonous air swept o'er the marsh, 

And pale and feVrous left the swain; 

No mountain lord with mandates harsh, 

Asssailed the freedom of the plain ; 

No earthquake rent the verdant ground 

And swallow' d myriads at a meal ; 

No Tempest on the landscape frown' d, 

Tranquility there set her seal. 

When man had fallen from this blessed height, 

His temper now no longer calm — 

The soul no longer pure and bright, 

He panted for some sovereign balm. 

A succedaneum for bliss lost, 

And happiness and inward peace ; 

By memory's whisp' rings tempest toss' d, 

How could he bid that tempest cease ? 

No more allur'd by charm of birds 



16 

At early morn, by evening sun, 

By sav'ry herbs and lowing herds* 

And water courses as they run, 

(All minds debas'd, these objects shun.) 

How can he fill the mighty void ? 

What substitute for joys now past, 

How acts of fierce despair avoid, 

And fearful suicide the last ? 

He casts his eye — no not above, 

Within — all there is hell — around, 

No trace is left of heavenly love, 

But thorns and thistles strew the ground. 

The fiercer passions waken' d now, 

Rise up like lions from the lair ; 

The ready smile has left his brow, 

And curses fill the listening air. 

What groan was that borne on the gale ? 

What pond'rous weight impress' d the ground r 

What short thick pants my ears assail ? 

1 Tis he ! my fancy gives the mournful sound. 

From tow' ring rocks his body dash'd 

On Asia's sands he lay nigh cold : 

And light' nings on him might have flashed, 

And thunders o'er him might have roll'd, 

Ere he had heard or felt their power. 

But a soft voice salutes his ear, 

In that lone spot, in that dark hour ; 

That voice he could not choose but hear — 



17 

He slowly lifts his heavy eye, 
And rises by one hand upborne ; 
What figure does he now descry ? 
Who ventures for this wretch forlorn ? 
'Tis one of sparkling eye and 'tire, 
Of purple dye, with such a face 
As might light up the inward fire 
Of one in death's last cold embrace. 
'Twas Eve's own voice he just had heard ; 
'Twas Eve now sought his lone retreat ; 
That voice once lov'd alas now fear'd, 
Since it pronounc'dhis bliss a cheat. 
That face once perfect in his eye, 
Those eyes which erst beam'd innocence 
Recall his guilt and misery, 
Show blessed joys exchang'd for sense. 
#####♦ 

There is by heaven to woman lent, 
In deepest grief, a suffering power, 
Which to the burden ever bent, 
Nor does her visage blanch or cower. 
Like a tree bow'd by force amain, 
Whene'er that force a whit abate, 
It springs to its own place again ; 
So bows she to her cureless fate. 
Fierce man pays his full price for pride, 
He never bends but breaks for all ; 
2* 



18 

Like the tall oaks rent by his side, 
More signal, fatal is his fall. 

Observant was our mother's eye, 

In his of dangers threat' ning lower ; 

Her care was hence to pacify, 

Not oil on raging fire to pour. 

With downcast looks she cons her cause, 

And hesitating, modest, slow, 

Thus broke the awful lenghten'd pause, 

And smoothed that high and austere brow. 

" Still of created things the soul, 

Of all we feel and hear and see, 

Of herb and tree and beast and fowl, 

Of all which fills the land or sea, 

And last of me, unworthy me, 

The lord — once pleasing in thy eye, 

Now partner in thy misery ; 

But not less fond, though fallen from high. 

If now Fve favor in thy sight, 

A woman's feeble counsel hear — 

How to free both from this sad plight, 

Or if not free, yet still to bear. 

Resources still are in our reach, 

Nor is all lost with Eden's bower, 

My share in peace's deadly breach, 

With shame I own and deep despair. 

In my lone walks in pensive thought, 



19 

Of late too lone, in yon bright vale — 
Large clustering fruit I found, unsought, 
Of beauteous sight and sweet regale. 
These glist'ning bunches press' d, did yield 
A drink of potency divine ; 
t gave it brutes of yonder field, 
With wild delight they drank this wine. 
So call'd by me from that same thirst, 
Which they who taste it quickly find ; 
Unlike to that fair tree accurst, 
The cause of ill to all our kind. 
There was another promis'd tree, 
Of healing strength — the tree of life, 
Which from our Ml has power to free, 
Restore us heaven and banish strife. 
Oh ! if the curling vine should prove, 
The blessed antidote of sin — 
Sweet gratitude my soul should move, 
And holy gifts my hands should bring. 
How thou wouldst joy to see this fire 
Run through their quicken' d frame ; 
What sudden rage and fierce desire, 
And boist'rous freaks seize e'en the tame. 
The wild, with ramps affrighting sent 
Me flying from the torn up ground, 
But straight the fiercest, this all spent, 
Sank down to rest and slumber sound. 
That sleep was thence so long and sweet, 



20 

It seem'd to end all pain and wo ; 
This soothing balm at thy Wd feet t 
In haste I with my duty throw :" 
So our first mother ushered in 
A second flood of sin and grief, 
Thus did the deadly serpent win 
Devoted crowds without relief. 



CANTO SECOND. 

From the first morn the young creation blest r 

Form'd from chaotic night by God's behest ; 

Ten centuries scarce the blessed orb of day 

Had fill'd with golden beams the orient way, 

Or smiling plenty, all his seasons crown' d, 

Or man had forc'd with tilth the blasted ground, 

When flagrant vice so fill'd the peopled earth, 

Just heaven almost repented of its birth. 

First gluttony exhausts the teeming soil, 

For few, as now, the thousand sweat and toil — 

A heavy load the bloated limbs sustain, 

A tottering frame a feeble palsied brain. 

At length decrepitude forestalls the tomb, 

A life of sorrow and a death of gloom. 

Then midst their feasts what vinous rivers flow'd, 

In pondrous cups the madd'ning juices glow'd. 

The hosts no time for thankfulness afford ; 

The great Creator's banished from the board. 

Thence noisy revelry and wanton sport, 

Indecent dalliance and the lewd resort. 

Then too hot lust with limbs of giant size, 

And shaggy breast, and fierce and gloating eyes„ 

Betokening wild desire with shameless brow, 

His appetite appeas'd, in spite of vow, 

Of virgin, or of matron's burning tears— 



Or vengeance shadow' d forth by his own fears. 

Grim furious war then blew a blast so loud, 

That ocean's caves, with sharp responses rung; 

His bloody sword unsheathed, he from him flung 

The scabbard, as he fac'dthe helmed crowd. 

Death shouted, when he saw him mount his car, 

And grinn'd aghast, and wish'd him safe from scar. 

The while his dart he sharpen' d, all aside, 

And joyed in secret o'er the crimson tide, 

Which hecatombs of sacrifice presag'd, 

Must flow where he the bloody conflict wag'd. 

Then rapine follow' d in war's ruthless train, 

Who murders helpless innocence for gain. 

Pale avarice was there, with filching hand, 

Filling with murmurs all the cheated land. 

And then, too, stalk' d abroad a hideous fiend, 

Unblushing, shameless, and with face unscreen'd. 

Lust, foul unnatural, so damn'd to fame, 

By latter times, almost denied a name. 

Or, if a dwelling now it has, 'tis found 

On sunlit, but debas'd Italian ground, 

Amidst the horrors of the Hindoo's creed, 

Or 'mong those hordes from decency long freed. 

For this the Queen of Jordan's fertile plain, 

Saw her proud walls consum'd, her children slain. 

No Sodom now exists, a frightful flood 

Alone, the traveller tells, where once she stood. 

But chief to thee, fierce Moloch of our race, 



23 

Intemperance! the overwhelming flood we trace, 

(Excess in largest sense well understood, 

Of appetite, of passion, drink or food.) 

Save Lamech's son,* from Adam's self the tenth, 

This globe despoil' d of all its pristine strength, 

Lay ' whelm' d so deep beneath the mountain tide, 

Ossaon Pelion heap'd in all their pride, 

With Andes, whose proud tops were near defil'd, 

And snow crown' d Himmalah upon all pil'd, 

The Olympus of the Thibet's barbarous brood, 

Had never pierc'd the surface of that flood. 

First the whole earth a dark'ning mist o'er spread, 

From the deep valley to the mountain head ; 

Then quickly fell apace the driving rain, 

Which soon absorb' d by cleft and sandy plain. 

Drew on the dreamer Noah's unshap'd pile, 

The sage' s scorn or scoffer' s speaking smile. 

But days went on the unrelenting stream, 

The Sun, with face averted, gives no beam, 

And soon the sated fissures overflow, 

And soon the scanty brooks to rivers grow, 

And soon the gushing springs join with the strong, 

And headlong stream, which now the laughing throng 

Observ'd with deep concern and wild dismay, 

The lower grounds behold no more the day. 

The sweets of perfum'd flowers no more regale 

*Noah. 



24 

The charmed sense, nor fragrant plants exhale. 

Their sweet aroma round the woodland side, 

Nor plumed bird struts there with conscious pride. 

To their long sleep, are gone the friends of man, 

The lower animals who crept or ran. 

The timid hare, arous'd by faintest sound 

Of stirring leaf or murmuring breeze around — 

The well form'd deer, frequenting stream and brake, 

No more at the still fount their thirst shall slake ; 

For fountain, spring, and brook, and river now, 

Are lost in one confounding 'whelming flow. 

Far far beyond old Ethiop's burning sands, 

Where fierce Numidia shews her sable bands, 

Still nearer to the equal golden zone ; 

Or Niger's headlong course obscure more prone, 

Near trenching on Borneo' s Indian strand ; 

Thence stretching o'er the far off western land, 

The flood rose highest in its mighty roll, 

Diverging to the distant iceclad pole. 

But first before thy onward flight, thy wing, 

Oh muse retard, and the last scena sing. 

A flying throng are hurrying up the side 

Of Thibet's snowy peak, now Asia's pride, 

All breathless, still they turn their anxious eyes, 

But still the huge pursuing waters rise — 

And there afloat, one views a father's corse, 

Another eyes the ark with deep remorse, 

Which on the whirling waves now safely rides, 



25 

And seemingly the jeering crew derides. 

A third weeps o'er his unbelief, too late, 

Then turns to look on his approaching fate: 

And oh ! how soon arrives the dreary night, 

Which shews the heavens still shorn of wontedlight. 

At length, the last sad frantic scene arrives 

Which, but to think the stoutest bosom rives. 

As the staunch bloodhound closes on his prey, 

Nor word, nor sop, nor ground, his speed delay. 

So rush'd up highest mountains now the tide, 

And all the power of man to stay, defied. 

What time the heav'ns the even balance shew, 

From Lybian sands the southern breezes blow ; 

And bear across to fair Italia' s lands, 

Devouring locust tribes in myriad bands. 

Like these for numbers on a rocky steep, 

Thick, clust'ring hanging o'er the awful deep, 

Appears one massive, countless living throng, 

Like swarming bees by Latium's poet sung. 

Oft the bold surge assails the crag's sharp side, 

And crowds are swept away, each angry tide ; 

The rest tow'rds greater heights reach out and stare, 

Alas ! those peaks beyond are phantoms — air ; 

The frantick mother plucks her clust'ring hair — 

The high bred chiefs, tranquility assume, 

And play the hero in that hour of gloom. 

At length one mighty, overwhelming wave, 

From off that height the swarm does lave; 

Then pierc'd the very heav'ns, a fearful cry, 

Of wo, the wail of death, the agony. 

A moment's pass'd — the yawning waters close, 
3 



26 

And all is hush'd in wonted deep repose. 

Now living things, but such as swim, were gone, 

Save Noah and his company alone. 

The trees on highest ground had disappear' d, 

The encroaching deep had there his standard rear'd. 

Two night spent swimmers, last of all our race, 

Were seen excursing round that hidden place. 

Of giant limb and herculean mold, 

With hairy breast, large stag-like eyes, and bold ; 

They blew the frothy waters from their oft lav'd lip, 

Yet one with little wit, could tell, the gripe 

Of death was on their frame, for they breath' d hard, 

Their strokes were faint and their tir' d feet downward. 

Yet, even then, the love of life in both 

Was strong, to leave this smiling world still loath. 

One found, as if by fortune' s favor, a foothold, 

Worth now to him, a million mines of gold ; 

(Hope, to the last, shot out delusive ray, 

That still the climbing flood his course would stay.) 

But this observ'd, his comrade rallied all his force 

To occupy this post, the last resource. 

His weakness feeling, he fell back again, 

And kept his buoyancy by skill amain. 

Then frantic, he attacks, with teeth and nails, 

'Midst wailing cries, speaks not, but still assails. 

The yell and grasp, a closer war denote, 

The tiger springs upon the yielding throat : 

With both his hands, his knees, the ribs compress, 

Thus lock'd, they sink at once in helplessness. 

A gurgle and a gasp, the double death disclose, 

The circling waters o'er the twining bodies close. 



CAUTTO THIRD. 

Full forty circling Suns at morn and even, 
Saw the dark flood give back the fires of heav'n ; 
(To far off realms, the liquid Ocean's bright, 
As the clear moon cheers us with equal light.) 
Before the Omnipotent, his vengeance stay'd, 
And to destroy the world intent delayed ; 
The Sun thereafter shot forth ardent rays, 
And the dark vapors drawn within the blaze, 
Disperse in space's thousand devious ways. 
Once more Aurora, dress' d in smiles appears, 
So often heretofore deep veil'd in tears. 
But what, alas, disclos'd that brilliant morn? 
The earth, of all her boasted beauty shorn ! 
Almighty vengeance sated, now the deep, 
Down settled to an all pervading sleep. 
On its still slimsy bosom, there repos'd 
Innumerous corses, all to raVnous birds expos' d. 
The tender blushing virgin floated there, 
DepriVd of wonted rights of sepulture. 
The comely youth, of appolonian mould, 
The bond, the free, the timid and the bold, 
The insatiate waters, round their icy arms enfold. 
There too, crowd thick, the surface of the stream, 
The wassailers surpriz'd in their short dream. 
The purple robe still wraps the kingly breast, 
No more by weighty cares of state oppress' d, 
His courtiers round his sacred body float, 



28 

Not flattery give, nor servile fear denote. 

The sons of riot, and the common sot, 

Mix with the perfiim'd crowd, nor ask to rot. 

Cold, slimsy monsters, from sea caverns creep, 

And feed upon the carrion of the deep. 

Then first appear' d in fields of aether hung", 

The iris with prismatic colors strung, 

The heaVnly pledge, that the great deep no more 

Should o'er our globe, his whelming fountains pour. 

But the long term of subsidence complete, 

Our mother earth unveils her bosom sweet, 

And welcome us back to her spread beck' ning arms, 

Her long lost, animated tribes and swarms. 

The slender elk, the lapland deer and hind, 

Their snowy homes pursue, swift as the wind, 

And leave hot Asia's table land behind. 

The lordly Lion snuffs his Lybian sands, 

And shapes his course towards Africa' s burning lands. 

The Condor flaps his wide gigantic wings, 

And from his breast the airy billows flings. 

Between him and his tow' ring Andes lie, 

One half the land, one half the vaulted sky. 

The wild goose and the fieldfare's hardy tribe, 

A denser, colder air, must soon imbibe, 

And towards the polar regions wing their way, 

With eyes aveTted from the solar ray. 

Instinct pursues her steadfast course again, 

Inscrutable by man's short feeble ken; 

Which never seeks its purpose to amend, 

Still equal to achieve its constant end. 



29 

Again the eagle sets his eyry high, 

The bold invader seeming to defy. 

The wren, from prying eyes, her nestling hides, 

And snug within her covert search abides. 

The martin courts the busy haunts of men, 

The owl goes to his solitude again. 

The ostrich for his arid desert burns, 

All nature to her ancient reign returns. 

Spar'd man resumes his daily labor now, 

And wipes the moisture from his careworn brow. 

But still, no wiser grown, down pleasure's stream 

He glides, and revels in the pleasing dream. 

Noah, who walk'd with God, the just and wise, 

To earth his Viceroy, from his patent flies, 

By cheating wine is overcome, how soon ! 

And plays before his house the wild buffoon. 

A father to his sons, his shame reveals, 

As through his veins the maddening potion steals. 

Assail' d by laughter, ridicule and scorn, 

When reason, her lost seat resum'd, how torn, 

His bosom, ah ! what anger fires his breast ! 

By what dark passions was his soul oppress' d ? 

The culprit son's descent, from home estrang'd, 

The curse sustain' d, and thro' wild deserts rang d. 

Downward the mark philosophy descries, 

And thus her creed asserts in plaintive cries : 

" All Ethiopia's race that ban still bears, 

•• In spite of other suns and lengthen' d years. 

" O'er the low forehead and the scanty brain, 

" Fair science ne'er asserts her gentle reign ; 



30 

" No ebon tutor lures us to her groves, 

" No African with art our passion's moves. 

" On her dull soil, mind creeps with heavy pace, 

" No Newton there illumes his grateful race ; 

" No Locke reveals bright reason's claims and pow'rs, 

" No Davy there, his useful knowledge showers ; 

" No Franklin, down from heav'n its secrets draws, 

" No Grecian's Sage dispenses equal laws : 

" Such sickly suns and poisonous airs prevail, 

" Few travellers return to tell their tale. 

" From light of other lands, shut out by fate, 

44 What pen can Afric's thousand woes relate?" 



CAI¥TO FOURTH. 

Old Time, oblivion's power soon left behind, 

Swift as in storms, the agitated wind. 

The early sufferings of a sinful race. 

The flower clad earth with smiling verdant face, 

Now meets with joy the youthful upland sun, 

As if she scorn' d in mirth to be outdone. 

The arksaved Patriarch well pleas' d, now sees 

His reign extend o'er land and angry seas. 

The rugged mountains his three sons descend, 

And to the fertile vales their course they bend ; 

And first their company discovery made, 

Of a broad plain, reliev'd by friendly shade ; 

'Twas Shinar call'd, that plain their footsteps staid. 

Thence colonies they sent on ev'ry hand, 

Directed by immediate high command ; 

But soon their crooked minds astray go back 

And lose the heav'n appointed safer track. 

Such was the mighty Hunter's boasted aim, 

To fill the world with Babel's tow' ring fame ; 

O'er look what pass' d throughout the circling land, 

And so wise grown, another flood withstand. 

With safety all the lures of sense return' d, 

And for the wine cup's draught each palate burn d. 

The stupid toper, soaking all alone, 

Was to these early ages little known. 

'Twas at the feast, the cup with mirth enjoy' d. 

That man was by the charms of wine decoy' d. 



32 

A Social this, not solitary crime, 

Till widening with the onward stream of time. 

'Twas left to after times to do and tell 

Of that deformed squalid child of hell, 

The bloated drinker of the morning dram, 

Still more accurs'd than progeny of Ham. 

The burning fluid runs through every vein, 

Thence climbs and takes man's citadel the brain. 

The arteries, the vitreous fire impart, 

And hurry on the torrent to the heart. 

The venous blood, the raging flame partakes, 

Till reason, her directing power forsakes. 

But ends not here, the poison's thousand ills : 

With fiery unctuous humors alcohol fills, 

The gen'ral corpulent, but weaken' d frame, 

Thence bred, thence fed, prepar'd, spontaneous flame 

Burns out its cruel, agonizing way, 

Thro' quivering flesh, nor quench' d the flitting ray 

Of life, till the bare bones to view emerge : 

Such of our race is alcohol the scourge. 

When Lot was rescu' d from that fiery rain, 

Which ravag'dall the wide extended plain. 

And Sodom burnt by light'ning's scorching breath, 

Saw flesh to ashes turn'd affrighting death — 

His resting place was Zoar, a barren spot, 

Where soon forgetting all, himself forgot, 

He wearied of his solitary life ; 

(A monument of salt remain'dhis wife,) 

And soon the wretched Zoar he left below, 

And with his daughters climb' d the mountain brow; 



33 

Thence the vast plain stretch' d forth, the dreary void, 

Impress' d the thought that man was now destroy' d : 

And wily stratagems their minds pervade, 

How to avert the fruits or to evade. 

Each maid her scheme in silence first revolves, 

And then imparts her long conceiv'd resolves. 

The elder then that lengthen' d silence broke, 

And a soft echo in the cave awoke. 

44 Oh younger of our common mother born ! 

" See me all sad, by thoughts distracting torn ; 

44 Now hear thy sister, but not hear to scorn : 

" In all my early joys thou sure didst share, 

44 And help of all my woes, the load to bear, [yearn'd. 

" When our young hearts, for fondest friendships 

" And to the guilty, still loVd land oft turn'd, 

44 You warn'd me of my danger, and inclin'd 

" To firm obedience my revolting mind. 

44 My sister seest thou yonder azure sky, 

" And that bright orb which dims the gazing eye? 

44 To him thou knows' t succeeds that silvery light 

44 Which glads with her soft beams the silent night, 

44 In this lone place, too consecrate to thought 

44 Of what we were, and why our friends are nought. 

44 Of all on whom yon Sun so lately shone, 

44 Three in this smiling world are left alone. 

• 4 And soon the day must come for us the last, [blast.) 

( 44 The last ! those words scathe like the lightning's 

44 And then that orb, the moon, and this brave sky, 

44 Will look on brutes and dark vacuity. 

44 Cans't thou e'er bear, whose heart so oft has bled 



34 

" For suffering insects and the guilty dead, 

" Of life's last lamp to watch the flitting fire, 

(" No wife now has, can have our much lov'd sire,) 

" And then in loneliness thyself expire ? 

The younger ruminating, pensive, grave 

To this discourse no ready answer gave. 

At length burst from her sparing lips reply : 

u Oh sister, next our father, nearest tie 

" Now left on earth, thou mother art become, 

" To one with her, bereft of pleasing home. 

" I see my lingering, cruel, threaten' d fate, 

" But how to remedy or but abate 

" Foils all my skill, speak out nor aught conceal> 

" What common good requires you should reveal." 

Awhile no ready pow'r of speech commands 

The first, but hides her face with both her hands. 

Then thus : " oh sister, search thy mind again, 

" And thence relieve thy sister's pain. 

" Tome appear' d, in dream of yesternight, 

" In flaming robes of dazzling heaVnly light, 

" One of those blessed men we entertain' d 

" In Sodom's plain by secret pow'r constrain' d ; 

" Then bidding me (all trembling) not to fear, 

" He pour'd these words upon my list'ning ear : 

" Necessity is nature's primal law, 

" Whence essences create their motives draw, 

* The eternal, sole, above each varying course, 

"Finds in himself each action's spring and source. 

" Hence man impell'dby hunger's deadly rage, 

" Against his kind, voracious war will wage. 



35 

" Thus back to Adam's offspring can we trace, 

" The close relations which preserved the race. 

M A duty sacred still, and at your hands 

" Requir'd, to execute heaven's first commands : 

" Be faithful — People all the smiling earth — 

" To countless myriads give their promis'd birth." 

" The action possible and fit, to you 

" The means are left." He then in clouds withdrew. 

To this replied the younger maid : " I deem 

" O Sister ! doubtful this apparent dream, 

" For evil spirits oft at hour of night 

" The ear supine with horrid thoughts affright. 

11 Let none presume do ill that good may come, 

" And if all other lets were overcome, 

" And if our scruples and our maiden fear, 

" We from our breasts unnatural tear, 

" Our father, delicate in every sense, 

" Would treat our dalliance as a rank offence." 

The elder politic, though still firm bent 

On her designs, a ready hearing lent 

To all her sister's words ; still now forbears 

An instant answer, but within her ears 

Prepares that stream once more to pour, 

Which tempted, she drank first in evil hour. 



Now drawn from earth the Sun's last ling' ring ray, 
The eagle to his crag slow wing'd his way. 
Inferior birds, the mountain air forsake, 
And to their hiding speed in copse and brake ; 
Then silence deep resum'd her deathlike reign, 



36 

And night her shadow threw across the plain — 
The lustrous evening stars shone forth his praise ; 
Who spangled all the burning vault with rays ; 
The moon each lake and fountain silver' d o'er, 
From Naxuana to wild ocean's roar. 
Lot's daughters, to the inmost cave retire, 
And there rejoin their Patriarchal sire. 
In that dark hour portentous clouds arise, 
And storms assail the earth and angry skies. 
Too pliant Haran's son,* by heaVn resign' d, 
The winecup drains ; its fumes o'ercloud his mind, 
His tempting daughter, then assails his heart 
By all the toilette's soft seductive art : 
Large careform'd braids her golden hair enfold, 
Upheld, confin'd by combs of pearly gold ; 
She now first us'd in glitt'ring robe attir'd, 
That dye of Tyre in after times admir'd ; 
On flow'ry bench her beauteous form dispos'd, 
With studied art her breast left half expos' d. 
Then heavenborn music heard her voice around, 
First softly stealing with sweet dulcet sounds ; 
Then with loud martial strains the Cave resounds, 
Loud swelling, bursting, animating bold — 
Succeeding accents the charm' d ear enfold 
In deeper, sadder, then more melting tones, 
The listener yields responsive sighs and groans ; 
Then came the gayblood heating, madd'ning dance, 
Where meet so oft the wanton limb and glance, 

*Lot 



37 

By beauty wrapt, by music all inspir'd, 
The Patriarch overcome, his bosom fir'd, 
For wine he calls more strong, more bright and old ; 
With every draught his scruples gone, more bold, 
Through all his veins extends the guilty flame, 
And lust and madness drown all rising shame : 
His guardian spirit weeps and turns his back, 
Loud thunders roll, " hung are the heavens in M^ick ;' ' 
The moon abash' d retires behind dun night, 
And all the stars withdraw their wonted light ; 
Unhappy man ! to wine he first submits, 
And then foul incest's damning crime commits. 



CAMO FIFTH. 

Now hurried down of time the rapid stream, 

No more for Lot we shudder, or with Jacob dream. 

We leave thee Palestine ! &y groves sublime, 

Thy fertile Solyma and ardent clime ; 

O'er intervening lands to take our flight, 

And see a kingdom vanquish' d in a night. 

Euphrates'* flowery banks invite the muse, 

Midst Babylonish feasts and famish' d Jews. 

A sensual Prince his suppliant court invites, 

With wine they pass their days — in dance their nights. 

Just heaven's own finger writes the dreamer's fate, 

And to the invader gives his crown and state. 

By golden wheels moVdon, the morn appear' d, 

When proud Belshazzar for his court prepar'd 

A banquet that should other banquets shame, 

And to his mem'ry give immortal fame. 

By daily flattery fed, the royal sot, 

Nebassarsf punishment had quite forgot. 

The oblivious juice so oft had fir'd his veins, 

(Each circling Sun, the frequent cup he drains.) 

That lawless appetite with each excess, 

A larger draught demands for happiness, 

If bliss so base a passion can be nam'd, 

By reason scouted, and by instinct sham'd. 

Devotion's forms in ev'ry state obeyed, 

* Euphrates signifies a flower. 

t Another name for Nebuchadnezzar. 



39 

The Priests to Bel their idol offering made. 

On Dura's shady ample plain behold, 

Immortal Belus rich in burnish' d gold* 

Great Chaldea's Jupiter surpassing far, 

That temple rais'd from blood-stain' d spoils of war.* 

Or that to Dian, queen of heaVn allow' d 

Ionic, where the great Ephesian bow'd. 

Eight mighty tow'rs, each o'er the other rise, 

Aspiring to the impenetrable skies. 

Vast monument, though frail, of eastern pride, 

Since now no ruins of the fane abide. 

The Sun his earliest ray shot o'er the plain, 

When fev'rous dreams assail' d the royal brain. 

For men or kings who drink, curtail sound sleep, 

The slaves who watch' d around, deep silence keep. 

Convuls'd his bosom and awake his fears, 

Wild dreamy visions fill his eyes with tears. 

At length on common ears state secrets fall, 

Amusing slaves, but stirring Satrap gall. 

" Ah, Cyrus, sober boy ! conclude this strife, 

11 Pretensions yield, and I preserve thy life. 

" Base slave, my crown and kingdom lost dids't say % 

" Thy head for this vile negligence shall pay. 

" Say drivelling dotard ! coward ! brainless ass ! 

11 Can human arm unbar those gates of brass, 

11 Our walls throw down, and our deep river pass ? 

" Come hither boy ! I thirst, give rosy wine, 

" And with the juice Arabia's spice combine. 



* The Doric. 






40 

" Whose grateful sweets, borne on the southern gale, 

" The senses, with soft violence assail. 

" There's poison in't, ignoble slave, the cup withdraw, 

" I'll have thee hang' d by mine own kingly law. 

" Cut him in pieces, what, will no one strike, 

" Traitors and villain slaves are all alike." 

Now sped his course through half the orient way, 

The joyous Sun, before one ardent ray 

Had reach 5 d the Assyrian Monarch's heavy eye, 

Whose leaden lids the light and warmth defy. 

His dreamy secret is profoundly kept, 

And courtiers ask how royalty had slept ? 

Wide op'd his kingly eyes, in short awake, 

His toilette now with anxious haste they make, 

Around his bed a daily group he sees, 

Of Eunuch Ethiop slaves on bended knees: 

In snowy vests are clad the sable bands, 

Napkins and vases fill their trembling hands : 

The early dew compress' d from sweetest flowers, 

On all his limbs they pour in pearly showers. 

That bed, which golden curtains did adorn, 

Contended with the glowing tints of morn ; 

Its canopy the Iris' colors bears, 

Resisting change by rotting damps or years. 

The empire's acts its ample space contains, 

The silent history of noble reigns ; 

Now essences and perfumes round him spread, 

And jewels circle the anointed' s head. 

A swarthy Chamberlain the question bears, 

11 What robe to-day his royal master wears?" 



41 

A thousand costly suits the wardrobe fill, 
Whose vigil' d keepers watch their monarch's will : 
Grave officers of law, the presence seek, 
But found, the awful silence none dare break ; 
Postpon'd from year to year, the affairs of state 
Neglect, at first incur, at last broad hate. 
His concubines, the crowned trifler seeks, 
With large, but sunken eyes, and faded cheeks. 
But first the wonted cordial's aid subserves, 
With brilliance his eyes, with strength his nerves. 
By practice taught, that confidence and ease, 

The secrets are all womankind to please. 

###### 

The captive Jews apart from that gay throng, 
Which sports the palace mirthful halls among, 
Their harps on bending willows silent hung, 
Remember' d Jordan's stream with tearful eyes, 
For their lov'd temple what deep sighs arise. 
From daily use of their own tongue restrain' d, 
The holy vessels captured and retain' d, 
All human ills in fewest words compris'd, 
By God forsaken and by man despis'd. 
In solitary spots they sit or stand, 
In circling groups along Euphrates strand, 
And as each livelong eve in course returns, 
The patriot fire within their bosom burns. 
To slaves how sweet the slow returning night, 
Then forth to all the list'ning worlds so bright, 
They fearless speak their plaints and shew their tears, 
Reveal their longing hopes, express their fears. 
4* 



42 

A knot of Hebrews now their duties o'er, 

Recount their sufferings and their wrongs outpour. 

One of that crowd, in spite of lengthened years, 

An eye of fire with meekness blent, still bears, 

Attracts regard above the common throng, 

And thus his harp awakes the tuneful song : 

('Twas Daniel sought that now sequester' d place, 

The prophet favor' d high among his race.) 

" Oh fall'n, ensWd yet heaVnly chosen seed, 

" By God, from early galling bondage freed, 

" By miracles led on, by wonders fed, 

" When in the desert manna fell for bread ; 

" Or when for you commanded still to shine, 

" The Sun his wonted course did not decline — 

" Or o'er the affrighted vale of Ajalon, 

u Still shone beyond her time the broad orb'd moon r 

" The same who splangled o'er yon azure skies, 

" And tells the radiant Sun what hour to rise, 

" Who, ever faithful to his people found, 

M Is not confin'd by space, by limits bound — 

M Though sunk in want, in sickness or in chains, 

" Their friend and benefactor still remains — 

" To him, oft veil'd in clouds, but still the same, 

" Let lofty temples rise and altars flame." 

"Our holy prophet," the exulting crowd reply f 

" An angel sent, a messenger from high" — 

11 An angel none, and if a prophet hear," 

The gifted seer replies, "worship forbear:" 

41 Hear you the deaf ning shout from yon high walls, 

44 And all those echoes from a thousand halls ? 



43 

44 In that huge palace proud, Belshazzar reigns, 

44 That building now, his wanton court contains — 

44 Jehoiacin, his grandsire,* rashly fought ; 

" The conqueror our temple spoil' d and brought 

" As captives hither Judah's fallen race, 

" With all the treasure from the holy place ; 

11 1 with some other Jewish youth retain' d 

" In that same tainted atmosphere remain' d ; 

" Me they instructed in their Chaldean lore, 

" But warn'd by heaven's monitions I forbore t 

" Base listless ease, that soft luxurious bait, 

11 Which does unwary youth in courts await ; 

44 And luxury, worse foe to sentient minds, 

11 Than sorrow's storms or poverty's rude winds. 

'" A tempting apple caus'd our first sad fall, 

44 The sensual appetites the soul enthral ; 

M And for the mind, is found no sure defence, 

44 Against the fierce assaults of lust and sense, 

" But thy impervious shield, Oh! Temperance I 

44 Have patience Hebrews, for a moment pause, 

44 While my quick heaving breath a respite draws. 

44 The lewd intent of that tumultuous noise, 

44 My Jewish feelings wounds, my soul annoys. 

44 My seerish vision quickens, and my bosom cheers, 

44 In spite of waning strength and clustering years. 

44 Yon buzzing crowds great idol aye their King* 

14 For him no tower shall rise, no Poet sing. 

44 From him no line descends, no branches spring. 

* Nebuchadnezzar. 



44 

11 No warrior's sword is girded on his thigh, 

" No battle spirit glistens in his eye, 

" O'er his ignoble mind soft pleasure reigns, [cha ins, 

" Round him she spreads her sweets and throws her 

" Smooth flattery laves his daily path with oil, 

11 And beauty spreads for him her artful toil. 

" Each syren's song by turns his soul invades, 

" Now drink inflames, and now bland sport pervades. 

" Oblivious poppies o'er his couch are strown, 

" And all the cries of wakeful conscience drown. 

" E'en now, two armies pi*ess on Babylon, 

" Darius, Media's Prince and Persia's son 

" Great Cyrus join'd, assail with both their powers* 

" And on the city, war his horrors pours. 

" The far fam'd Chiefs for siege or storm prepare, 

" And both in person, all the dangers share. 

" While our besotted Prince, no perils move, 

" He gives his days to wine, his nights to love. 

" E'en in this hour of just alarm and fear, 

" And while a mighty hostile force is near, 

" The dissolute Belshazzar holds his feast, 

" In Belus' honor, idol of the east, 

" And summon' d by his call yon motley crowd, 

" Acclaim his words by echoes long and loud : 

" Applaud his vices while they drink his wines, 

" Lords, Princes, Courtiers, and e'en Concubines, 

" Save Nitocris, the prudent mother queen, 

" Her judgment hid (maternal love still seen.) 



* Powers for armies, Shakspeare. 



45 

" Or in her absence mark'd, each guilty hour, 

" The bearers forth their madd'ning potions pour. 

" But for her counsels, long ago the state 

14 Had been extinct, and now quite desolate. 

44 In eVry virtue rich, the royal fair 

41 Can with our nation's matrons well compare. 

44 The fam'd Semiramis Assyria's pride, 

41 With Nitocris could but the palm divide. 

44 Beneath of Merodach the gentle reign, 

44 Her royal Lord, our nation did sustain 

44 Her varied bitter ills and low estate, 

44 With cheerful fortitude and look elate. 

44 Long time within a prison's walls immur'd r 

44 Our captive King Jehoiachin endur'd. 

44 Sad loss of liberty and precious light, 

"E'en his rough keepers melted at the sight. 

44 The good Assyrian King, his wants supplied, 

44 Assuag'd the galling pain of wounded pride, 

44 And rais'd and plac'd him by his side. 

" Hark ! through this silent glade the shouts still ring* 

44 The Lords now pledge the proud insensate King, 

r I know the custom, now the walls rebound, 

44 And frighten from its hold, the air around. 

44 The heated clamor seems to draw more near, 

44 All longer stay, my countrymen forbear. 

44 If found so near yon pile, you would endure, 

44 At least their taunting jibes and jests impure. 

44 Inflam'd by wine, and favor' d by the hour, 

44 Unbridled insults they might on you show , r. 

44 Then now we sever, soon to meet again, 



46 

14 For now my mind big with prophetic strain, 

" O'erleaping envious time which intervenes, 

" Peers into coming, but yet hidden scenes. 

" The avenging angel now I see on high, 

" Awaiting his commands, who rules the sky. 

" The two edged sword of vengeance now is drawn, 

"And quick descends, before the next morn's dawn. 

" Weep Babylon ! thy hour is almost come, 

" The hour of retribution and of doom. 

"Thy impious King, like Lucifer shall fall, 

" Thy nobles' blood shall stain that wassail hall — 

" All thy fair virgin daughters captives be, 

" And none shall wail their abject misery. 

" From thy high places cast forever down, 

" All thy strong walls and towers overthrown, 

" For sackcloth all thy purple robes exchanged, 

" To howlings, all thy wanton sonnets chang'd — 

" When all thy tinsel pomp shall pass away, 

" How will thy pride sustain thee in that day ? 

" Then shall thy tuneful Syrian maids turn mute, 

" Nor through their halls be heard the pleasing lute. 

11 Here held her Court, the brooding owl shall sit, 

"And o'er the silent ruin bats shall flit. 

" Save when the raven's croak is heard around, 

" Or the loud bitterns cries those halls resound, 

" Blood chilling silence, here shall hold her sway, 

" And tangling trees avert the cheerful day. 

" No more thy river substitute for rain, 

" Its copious founts shall empty o'er the plain. 

" Dried up its sources and its channel bare, ' 



47 

" No pasture shall be found, no herbage here, 
" But savage beasts around thy places prowl, 
" And wolves and foxes through thy haunts shall howl. 
M The hemlock here its poisonous head shall rear, 
" And blighting nightshade load the morbid air. 
" The hissing serpent here shall fix his den, 
" The crocodile here find his favorite fen. 
11 About thy towers the reptile tribes shall creep, 
" And o'er thy prostrate columns travellers weep. 
" From thee the moon shall veil her light, his rays 
the Sun, 

" And desolation dwell where was proud Babylon ! 

###### 

A thousand shouts which shook the solid ground, 

A thousand brazen trumpets thund'ring sound. 

A thousand Lords within the banquet hall, 

A thousand lamps which line the palace wall, 

Announce the long expected festival. 

On throne of state enshrin'd in polish' d gold, 

Assyria's King in awful pomp behold; 

A titled glittering crowd the presence grac'd; 

Around and next the royal person plac'd, 

The beauty of the east in jewels shone, 

Comparing splendor with that peerless throne. 

The Lords surround, their spangled suits proclaim 

A Courtier race devoid of martial fame. 

A spacious dome and roof the walls contain, 

A thousand brazen pillars both sustain. 

From golden fountains cooling waters play'd, 

And richest viands all the halls pervade, 



48 

A hundred Jewish youth, cup bearers stand, 

The royal chamberlains the whole command. 

And ranks of sturdy slaves await their will, 

What time the cups with foaming wine to fill. 

Thrice to the air the brazen trumpet's throat, 

The triple pledge of mutual toasts gave out. 

The suppliant crowd, the King well pleas' d surveys, 

And glows his bosom with their abject praise. 

Pride rises with each cordials burning draught, 

And speeds its way within each fulsome shaft. 

" A King immortal speaks," a courtier cries ; 

" Of fate the arbiter," the throng replies : 

Assenting to the impious strain, the monarch nods, 

" I am immortal by the living Gods, 

" Who's he disputes Belshazzar's word ? 

" If such, he instant dies by my good sword. 

" Bound in obedience, one great empire see, 

" From savage lands to sea of Araby. 

" Impregnable are all our massive walls, 

" When yonder sun decays, our city falls. 

"Am I great Nimrod's son, of Belus' line, 

"By law accorded rites and rank divine? 

" Great Belus' son," the answering crowd reply, 

" Who made yon light and hung the stars on high. 

" If Bel be God, then other Gods are nought, 

" And live all else in idle thought. 

" The Jewish to the Assyrian God gives way, 

" Our Belus must have undisputed sway. 

" An oracle has spoken," cry the Lords around, 

" An oracle," the echoing halls resound. 



49 

" My people love their King, let wine be brought) 

" Now labors for escape, a sudden thought. 

"But first the goblets heap with gen'rous wine, 

u Such as might challenge Bacchus' smile divine. 

" Nor let the angry Jewish God our bliss disturb, 

" Nor pain, nor lurking care bland pleasure curb. 

11 Let fairest maidens hither quickly bring 

" The fragrant flowers of smiling early spring : 

" With roses, lilies for our garlands twine, 

" The lasting myrtle with the eglantine. 

" Exhaust the odorous spices of the east, 

" To furnish out a monarch's happy feast 

" With honors let the beaueous fair be crown' d, 

"And all grave thoughts in sparkling wine be drown' d. 

" Drink all — drink deep — inferior joys we scorn, 

" Until the beams arrive of envious morn." 

(All pledge) " The King of mighty Babylon! 

The world's great light ! of earth the cheering Sun ! 

u Thanks, friends, now from myself and God I swear, 

" The poor and abject name of King I tear. 

" From Gods descended, me as such revere, 

" But little less than God — I feel it here. 

M Now let the Jewish slaves, with haste bring in 

" The vessels captur'd with Jehoiachin. 

"'Twill o'er our drink a richer flavor throw, 

" And lend the purple juice a deeper glow. 

" It seems the Hebrew God of bruited fame, 

" Should all these trinkets from our hands reclaim. 

" See now if power be his or aught but name. 

The wise are ever frugal of their joys, 



50 

" And still avoid the same dull round which cloys. 

" Appear thou master spirit of the night, 

" And fill our ears with joyous wild delight — 

" Soft music ! sooth us with thy sweetest strains, 

" Such as erst fell on ears of Lesbian swains. 

" When great Apollo wak'd his golden lyre, 

" And mortals charm' d with notes of heavenly quire. 

" Enough ! now sweep with firmer hand the strings, 

" Bring sounds for ears of heroes and of Kings. 

" Such as may teach my heart contempt and scorn, 

" For that poor meagre band a hope forlorn, 

" Led on by Cyrus and the Persian King, 

" O'er whose devoted heads the crow doth wing. 

"I trust no traitors mingle with our band, 

" But yet, if treason did assail the land 

" I should mistrust those superstitious Jews, 

" Who all our laws and customs still refuse. 

" A sober, whining, lily -liver' d race, 

" Who temperance affect with odd grimace. 

"Ah, see ! Judea's God does not appear, 

w Nor lends the self-deluded Jews his ear. 

"For yonder come the vessels, sacred nam'd, 

" Through all the orient countries fam'd." 

Thus far the King: anon his prying eyes, 

Run o'er the burnish' d cups with pleas' d surprize, 

Observe the massive weight and workman's skill, 

A nod informs the bearers when to fill. 

" Heap up," the monarch cries ; " the gen'rous wine, 

M Make all your ample potions peer with mine, 

4t And try if Jewry's God will now appear, 



51 

44 Or from our hands the sacred vessels tear. 

44 To Belus, patron of our honor' d feast — 

11 The Assyrian God and Lord of all the East." 

What time the monarch grasps to raise the bowl, 

The spacious palace shakes, the thunders roll. 

The forked heaven-sent light'nings round him flash, 

And from his impious hands the goblet dash. 

A hand appears against the gleaming wall, 

An unknown writing, sees the astonish' d hall. 

Transfix' d with fear, Belshazzar stands, 

Averted are his eyes behind his hands. 

And now his trembling knees together smite, 

His flesh is quivering, and his visage white : 

From off his head the bright tiara falls, 

The monarch's dumb, and silent are those halls. 

###### 

In part recover' d from his dread surprise, 

44 Bring in," he cries, " tbe learned and the wise. 

" Magicians and Astrologers, whose spell, 

44 The highest heavens can pierce, and fathom hell, 

44 And let them, if they can, those words divine, 

44 Which now on yonder wall so brightly shine. 

44 This sight no phantasm is distill' d from wine. 

44 1 surely am awake, and do not dream, 

44 Oh horror ! there they still remain and gleam. 

44 What now are crowns and earthly baubles worth, 

44 The pomp of monarchs and the pride of birth. 

4t Nobles and Princes all alike want power, 

44 To help Belshazzar in this dreadful hour. 

" Avaunt ye flatterers, with honied words, 



52 

11 No solace now your hollow praise affords. 

" But if ye may, be still our real friend, 

" And say what those bright characters portend, 

" Oh silent ! then too impotent to save, 

" I turn to sager men, the learned and the grave, 

11 Approach, stargazers, cunning men and keen, 

" Who commerce hold with both the worlds 

unseen. 
" Nay, with all courtly forms I now dispense, 
" Declare of yonder written signs the sense — 
" To him who can interpret, I award 
" The highest subject honors for reward. 
" Within this limit he himself may name 
" His wish, in riches, might or envied fame. 
" A costly robe his person shall adorn, 
" Which may compete with dies of orient morn, 
"A chain of precious gold, his neck shall grace, 
" And in our land he holds the third best place. 
" Nay, why should terror o'er your faces glare, 
" On pain of death, your inmost thoughts declared 
Thus spake the King — one universal gaze, 
With deep attention blent and wild amaze, 
Give each employ, wide ope'd is every ear, 
And all the sages' verdict, wait to hear. 
Ah ! expectation fruitless and quite vain ! 
Like statues, all the learned tribe remain. 
Perplex' d among themselves, they long consult, 
(Still lost, confounded by the signs occult.) 
What answer to the King they may return, 
And from themselves his dangerous anger turn. 



53 

At length so authorized, their chief address' d 

The impatient King, and all the truth confess 1 d. 

11 Hail mighty monarch ! ruler of our fate ! 

" Thy slaves regard with grace, thy wrath abate. 

" The King to us, too hard a task assigns, 

" We cannot designate those written signs, 

" Nor penetrate the writer's deep designs." 

This answer did but hotter wrath inspire, 

Belshazzar's lip now curls, his eyes flash fire. 

" Guards put,' he cries, " those slaves to instant death, 

" They have the name of wise, their lying breath 

" May yet deceive the world ; against this shame 

" I would preserve the Assyrian name. 

A murmur now ran through the motley crowd, 

Disapprobation clear, not long nor loud, 

Such as may greet the absolute and proud. 

And now in happy time the queen appears, 

Pleasing and fair for one of matron years. 

And thus Nitocris : " Oh beloved son, 

" These feasts and rites obscene thou knows't I shun, 

" Where mirth and riot their mad courses run. 

" Yet is the mother still midst all the same, 

" In sickness, health, through honor and thro' shame. 

" Thy strange disorder' d mind, and sudden fear 

" With yonder mystic signs, have brought me here. 

" If haply I may find some certain way, 

" Thy doubts to solve, thy fears to chase away." 

Then spake the king : " O Queen and mother leave 

" Reproof to some more happy time ; relieve, 

" Without delay, my anxious careworn mind ; 
5* 



54 

" Speak on, thy cheering words acceptance find.' 

To him the Queen : " Among the captive race, 

" Which did Nebassar's well known triumphs grace, 

" Was there a Jewish youth, well versed in law, 

" Of hidden fate, and skill' d her veil to draw. 

" Of that fam'd king, two dreams he did expound. 

" Of which the truth was but too surely found. 

" The youthful Daniel was with nobles bred, 

" And honors shower' d upon the prophet's head. 

" But he who that court circle could adorn, 

" Is now by thine neglected and forlorn." 

" Send for him quickly Mother," cried the king, 

" Thy words well please — the prophet hither bring." 

The Queen : " Thy will my son's thrice freely done, 

{t And in advance I have thy favor won. 

11 That Daniel comes, nor will thy secret shun." 

The King : " Thou venerable sage draw near, 

" And yonder signs reveal, unmov'd by fear. 

" I would for long neglect make some amends, 

"See royal greatness to a captive bends. 

" If power thou hast, fate's secret things to see, 

" I would propitiate thy Gods and thee. 

" This mistrust from my heavy soul remove, 

" And thou a monarch's gratitude shalt prove. 

" O'er thee and thine a tide of wealth shall roll, 

" And power beyond the wishes of thy soul. 

" A scarlet robe I give, by nobles worn, 

" And princely honors shall thy head adorn ; 

" With these receive a chain of precious gold, 

" And the third station in our empire hold." 



55 

Then Daniel spake : " Thy gifts, O King reserve, 

" Regards not rank nor gold the god I serve. 

" Thy princely honors and thy precious chain, 

" For me no motives have, no charms contain. 

u Yet thus requested by the Assyrian king, 

" I will to him reveal this hidden thing. 

" Thy ears then open and thy mind prepare, 

M The undisguised truth from me to hear. 

" A bitter potion for each royal mind, 

11 To self-will prone and vanity inclin'd. 

" I spread not adulations hidden net, 

" Nor baited traps for gainful honors set. 

" By heav'nly impulse mov'd, I cannot choose, 

" But say what words I must, though man refuse 

11 (Still alien from my God) my speech to hear, 

M Then now in time, O King, thy mind declare. 

Then spake the monarch, while the crowd admire 

The Prince's meekness, and the Prophet's fire. 

Vi Thy bluntness Seer, doth not my ear offend, 

vi Fearless thy thoughts express as to a friend. 

i; I feel besides within, some secret power, 

" Unknown to proud Belshazzar 'till this hour." 

Then Daniel thus : " No man our God defied, 

" And ever prospered in his couse of pride, 

" Thy Grandsire for this fault too dearly paid, 

11 When he with savage beasts his dwelling made ; 

" Nor did his sad example aught incline 

" Thy mind to virtue's wholesome discipline. 

11 On his more martial spirit thou didst frown, 

M The while his sinful pride is made thy own. 



56 

" On these are grafted hateful indolence, 

11 And all the cheating cates of groveling sense. 

" No stranger spends a scanty sojourn here, 

" But midnight revels meet his 'frighted ear. 

" Hir'd guards have still the public scorn repressed. 

" Which but for these, had long since been expressed, 

" What was it seemly for a mighty Prince, 

" To wear the sex's dress, its manners mince ? 

" On all his court the midnight bowl to press, 

" And monstrous deeds to act of drunkenness ? 

11 On frantic orgies wealth and time to spend, 

" And in broad vice each former reign transcend, 

" Of these wild bacchanals by God accurst, 

" This night's excesses still to make the worst, 

" The vessels set apart for sacred use, 

" Receive from impious hands the last abuse. 

" My God ! thy holy things were here profan'd, 

" And yet thy awful vengeance was restrain'd. 

" And thou, O King, hast left the holy one, 

" And bowed down to Gods of wood and stone. 

" And now I break of yonder signs the seal, 

" And thus the hidden mystery reveal. 

" Thy kingdom's days, thy reign of misus'd power, 

" Are number' d and will soon be seen no more, [found, 

" Weigh'd in the eternal's scales thou'rt wanting 

" Thy kingdom's rent, and Medes and Persians take 

the ground. 
" When midst some scorching desert's stormy sands, 
" The lonely traveller lifts his feeble hands, 
" No voice is heard — his fears are too profound." 



5? 

When Daniel ceas'd — not one of crowds around 

Breaks that long silence which the proud appals, 

More than the falchions gleam or trumpet's calls, 

There Daniel, but a Hebrew slave still stands, 

With port erect amidst the armed bands ; 

That daring slave who boldly had denounc'd, 

Their masters vices and his doom pronounc'd: 

One word of which by other tongue reveal'd, 

Had surely its long silence quickly seal'd. 

Not only proudly there he holds his place, 

And no base courtier moves his dire disgrace. 

But now the awe-struck monarch on him sheds. 

Those honors meet for crowned awful heads. 

The promis'd chain and robe his person grace. 

And in the land he holds the third best place, 

But who a Milton's daring pen shall bribe, 

The sequel in just colors to describe % 

Man is but mortal and he changes soon ; 

Not long the dial plate doth stand at noon. 

The courtiers try their royal host to cheer, 

To raise his spirits and dismiss his fear. 

The Assyrian Bel though form'd of gold and wood, 

Was still they thought the peer of Daniels God. 

Besides, the Prophet was of Jewry's hateful tribe, 

And might have felt the foeman's weighty bribe. 

Each country still is jealous of its own, 

And will on foreign interference frown, j [storm, 

The thought was good and night have hush'd the 

In wiser minds which had begun to form 

In King Belshazzar's, and his blood still warm. 



58 

With that hot juice which he had drunk before, 
Was easily persuaded ; then they pour 
Libations out, to reassure the royal mind, 
And as became them all to throw the past behind. 
The wine foam round the cup again doth curl, 
Again the step and bound and wanton whirl. 
Again those walls with music's strains resound, 
Again lewd jests and dalliance go their round. 
All conquering Bacchus his warm votaries feel, 
And court bred dames before their menials reel. 
Without an aim the wine-fraught monarch nods, 
Nor does he hear when he is peer'd with gods. 
The lusty slave that bears to drowsiness inclines, 
In spite of cassia's fumes and fragrant wines. 
The morning star now sheds his lambent fire, 
The palace lights in smoky flames expire. 
When discords horrible and grating jar, 
And nearing clash of arms and shouts of war 
Are heard behind, before, and all around, 
And bloody corses strew the court-yard ground. 
Drunk and confounded are the palace troops, 
And massacreed in unresisting groups. 
Affrighting shrieks and noise are heard within, 
Lords, ladies, slaves, in one commingling din. 
For now the invaders foothold there obtain, 
The drunk are sober, and the sober slain. 
The feeble, dancing, slothful, drinking king, 
To one last effort does his spirits bring. 
But still before he will consent to fall, 
Determines on his ancestors to call. 



59 

On Nimrod. ancient founder of his line, 

On Belus, honor'd with all rites divine. 

( Semiramis, who all her sex outshone, 

And fortified with spoils the Assyrian throne. 

Through India's distant lands she bore her arms, 

And kept surrounding states in dire alarms. ) 

To these and all his Gods he pays his vows, 

And then proceeds to weightier task of blows. 

With nerveless hand, he draws his jewel? d sword, 

(Alas, his Gods but little aid afford.) 

And forcing his reluctant limbs along, 

Arrives the furious martial crowd among. 

From all his strokes but little harm ensued, 

Dealt as they were upon the strong and rude. 

His imbecility invites his death, 

A common hand deprives him of his breath : 

Mix'd in the motley heap of vulgar slain, 

His royal limbs no burial rites obtain. 



ERRATA. 

Page 13, line 15 from bottom, for destructions, read de- 
struction. 

Page 25, punctuate line 2d from bottom, as follows : of wo 
the wail, of death the agony. 

Page 27, line 8 from top, for dark read dank. 

Page 28, line 12 from top, for welcome us, read welcomes. 
" " line 13 from bottom, for Africa, read Afric. 

Page 30, line 5 from bottom for Grecians, read Grecian. 

Page 41, line 10 from top, for brillance, read brilliancy. 



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